"We
happen to be living between two concepts of human ways of
life," said Pope John XXIII
in his third Christmas message. "On one side [there is] the
reality of the world
examined, studied, and reduced to practice according to the
design of God; on the
other--we are not afraid to repeat it--the counterfeit of this
same reality, made easy by
technical skill and the ingenuity of man."

Speaking last week from the Vatican,
the spiritual head of the
Roman Catholic Church appealed to those with the highest
responsibility in public and
social life "not to counterfeit truth." He directed his
words not only to heads
of state but "to all without exception: Educators, parents,
teachers, to all who work
with head or hand or heart; to those--and we emphasize
this--responsible for public
opinion, which is being formed or deformed by means of the press,
radio, and television,
by the cinema, by meetings and exhibitions of every kind. .
.

"Have a sacred terror of
spreading those germs which desecrate love, break up the family,
mock religion, loosen the
foundations of the social order. . .Know how to build with quiet
perseverance and untiring
endeavor the conditions for better times, healthier, more just,
more secure. . .

"We have confidence in God and
His light," concluded
the pontiff. "We have confidence in men of good will,
satisfied that our words may
rouse in the hearts of all upright men a note of manly
generosity." (Associated
Press)